By Paul van Hooft* THE HAGUE, Netherlands | 28 March 2025 (IDN) — European doubts about deterrence predate the current US administration. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and its growing reliance on nuclear coercion to ward off Nato support, brought the importance of nuclear weapons to the foreground again for the first time since the […]
Serbia’s Massive Protest — Challenges and Opportunities for Vučić
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK 22 March 2025 (IDN) — For the first time in his long political career, President Aleksandar Vučić faces a serious public challenge to his leadership. However, his staying power remains strong. The EU has an opportunity to play a significant role in mitigating the unrest while luring Serbia out of […]
UN Chief Visits World’s Largest Refugee Camp with Bad News from Trump
By Jan Servaes BANGKOK, Thailand | 22 March 2025 (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Bangladesh from March 13 to 16. His visit came at a critical time as Bangladesh grapples with both internal and external challenges aimed at thwarting the historic reforms introduced by the interim government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. […]
Bhutan’s Growing Migration Wave Demands Better Planning
By Namdu Lhamo, Jelle J P Wouters, Binaya Pasakhala* THIMPU, Bhutan | 20 March 2025 (IDN) — Sonam and Pema migrated a decade ago from eastern Bhutan to the south-west Pasakha Industrial Estate, located on the border with India. The married couple were farmers, but Bhutan’s climate change impacts and interwoven rural crises, including escalating human-wildlife […]
Trump’s Betrayal of America’s Social Contract and Global Standing
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 19 March 2025 (IDN) — Trump’s betrayal of the ideals and values that America has embraced and which made it an unrivaled nation is tragic. Every Republican with a conscience should rise and put America first, above a felon and a party, before it is too late From its […]
Giving The Indo-US Nuclear Deal a New Lease of Life
By Kapil Patil* NEW DELHI, India | 17 March 2025 (IDN) — In a series of recent high-level meetings, India and the US have launched renewed efforts to infuse a new lease of life into the historic Indo-US nuclear deal brokered by then-US President George Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in May 2005. […]
Iran Calls Trump’s Proposed Negotiation A “Deceptive Tactic”
By Abdul Rahman DHAKA, Bangladesh | 16 March 2025 (IDN) — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei said on March 12 that the US offer to talk with Iran is not credible. He claimed since the Trump administration is neither ready to address Iranian concerns nor willing to lift its illegal unilateral sanctions to […]
Latin America Prepares New UN Climate Plans as Emissions Rise
By Fermín Koop* BUENOS AIRES, Argentina | 15 March 2025 (IDN) — Every five years, parties to the Paris Agreement on climate change must submit action plans that increase their level of ambition in meeting its goal: to halt the average global temperature rise at 2C above pre-industrial levels, if not 1.5C. The current slate […]
Diplomatic Pressures and Bangladesh’s Military: Unraveling the Debate
By Mujtoba Ahmed Murshed The writer is an analyst, researcher, and journalist. He has served in Japan and Germany’s foreign ministries and worked as the Advisor at the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). DHAKA, Bangladesh | 14 March 2025 (IDN) — In the aftermath of Bangladesh’s political transition on […]
A Geologist Explains Why Ukraine’s Minerals Are Exceptional
By Munira Raji* PLYMOUTH, Devon, England | 13 March 2025 (IDN) — Ukraine’s minerals have become central to global geopolitics, with the US president, Donald Trump, seeking a deal with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to access them. But what are these minerals exactly, and why are they sought after? Ukraine is often recognised for its […]